Artorius slowly opened his eyes as morning light slipped through the small window of his room.
For a moment he simply stared at the wooden ceiling, letting the quiet warmth of the morning settle in.
The first thing he noticed was the bed.
"...That was surprisingly comfortable."
He sat up and stretched his arms over his head. His muscles loosened as he gave a long morning stretch.
Unlike what he expected, his back didn't hurt at all.
"I thought a simple inn bed would leave me sore," he muttered.
"This establishment appears to value comfort," Travy replied calmly inside his mind.
Artorius chuckled softly.
"Not a bad start to the day."
Just as he finished stretching, a notification appeared before his eyes.
Status Updated.
Leveled up two times.
Two new stats added.
Two new passive skills learned.
Four passive skills leveled up.
One active skill leveled up.
One new title gained.
Artorius blinked.
"That's... quite a lot."
Yesterday's requests had clearly given him more progress than he expected.
"Let's see what changed."
He opened his Status window.
Status
Level: 4
HP: 367 / 367
Mana: 222 / 222
Stamina: 205 / 205 (New)
Attributes
Strength: 43 ->46 (+2)
Agility: 43 -> 45 (+1)
Vitality: 52 -> 54 (+6)
Intelligence: 50 -> 51 (+1)
Luck: 20 -> 40 (New)
Passive Skills
Researching — Level 6 (Level Up)
Athleticism — Level 5
Reading — Level 6 (Level Up)
Cooking — Level 4
Magic — Level 5
Mana Control — Level 4
Mana Efficiency — Level 2
Swordsmanship — Level 1
Foraging — Level 2 (New)(Level Up)
Endurance — Level 2 (New)(Level Up)
Active Skills
Appraisal — Level 2 (Level Up)
Fireball — Level 2
Wind Throw — Level 2
Earth Bullet — Level 1
Water Slash — Level 2
Lightning Stun — Level 1
Titles
Newbie Adventurer
Beginner's Luck (New)
Artorius crossed his arms while examining the screen.
"So the two new stats are Stamina and Luck."
Stamina made immediate sense. If Strength measured power, Stamina probably measured how long he could keep moving without exhaustion.
Luck, however, was harder to understand.
"Interesting."
"What part interests you the most?" Travy asked.
"The Researching skill leveling up."
Artorius tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"I understand why Reading leveled up. I spent an hour in the library yesterday. But Researching increased too."
"That is a logical result," Travy replied.
"Learning about an unfamiliar world counts as research activity."
Artorius nodded slowly.
"That actually makes sense."
He shifted his attention to the new skills.
"Foraging and Endurance."
Foraging was easy to understand.
"I probably gained that from gathering Honeydew yesterday."
"And Endurance from walking across the plains?" he guessed.
"That is correct."
Artorius then focused on the new title.
"Beginner's Luck."
He opened the description.
Title: Beginner's Luck
Effect: Increases Luck by twenty.
"So my base Luck must have been twenty before the title boosted it."
He thought back to the Moon Dew he found yesterday.
"I guess finding a rare herb on my first quest really was lucky."
"That conclusion is reasonable," Travy said.
Artorius then noticed something else in the interface.
"A clock?"
A small time display appeared on the system window.
6:00 AM.
"That's convenient."
After closing the window, he changed into a fresh set of clothes from his Inventory.
Then he headed downstairs.
The young receptionist from yesterday was already at the counter.
She greeted him with a cheerful smile.
"Good morning."
"Good morning," Artorius replied.
"What time is breakfast served?"
"In about two hours, Mr…?"
"Artorius."
"Yes. Breakfast will be ready around eight o'clock, Mr. Artorius."
Artorius nodded.
"Perfect. I'll go exercise first."
The girl smiled politely.
"Please take care."
The morning air outside was cool and refreshing.
Artorius began jogging down the street at a steady pace.
Although he was naturally athletic, most of his previous training came from sports that required short bursts of energy rather than long endurance.
If he wanted to survive as an adventurer, that needed to change.
"So this is your training plan?" Travy asked.
"Morning jogs," Artorius said.
"Simple but effective."
"I recommend maintaining this habit," Travy replied. "Your Endurance skill will likely improve through repeated effort."
Artorius continued jogging while observing the town.
Morning had just begun, but several shops were already opening.
He passed a lively market square where merchants were arranging fruits, vegetables, and meats on wooden stalls.
The smell of fresh bread drifted through the air.
"That smells amazing," Artorius said.
Nearby he spotted a blacksmith shop. Sparks occasionally flashed from inside as metal clanged against an anvil.
Further down the street stood a tailor's shop, with colorful fabrics hanging near the doorway.
He also passed an armorer, several small restaurants, and two other guild buildings.
One displayed the symbol of the Merchant Guild.
Another belonged to the Mage Guild.
"Interesting," Artorius said quietly.
"The town is more developed than I expected."
Eventually he spotted a large building with tall windows and rows of bookshelves visible inside.
The public library.
"That's where I'll go later," he said.
Just then another system notification appeared.
Mission Updated.
Sub-Mission Received.
Mission Title: Knowledge of Another World (Eiras)
Mission Information: Visit libraries and learn about the world of Eiras.
Mission Condition: Successfully learn topics related to this world.
Reward: Intelligence increases by one for every 2 topics learned. No limit.
Artorius slowed his jog slightly.
"A permanent mission?"
"That is correct," Travy confirmed.
"A knowledge-based progression system."
Artorius smiled faintly.
"I like that."
Just then he noticed a sign near a nearby building.
Public Bath.
After jogging for a while, the idea of a warm bath sounded perfect.
He stepped inside and paid the entrance fee.
Warm steam filled the room.
Artorius slowly lowered himself into the shared bath.
The warm water immediately relaxed his muscles.
"…This might be the best bath I've ever had."
"Relaxation contributes to physical recovery," Travy commented.
Artorius leaned back and sighed contentedly.
"Traveling to another world and taking a bath here…"
He chuckled softly.
"This is definitely a strange experience."
After half an hour, he finished bathing and changed into a fresh set of clothes.
Then he returned to the inn.
Breakfast was ready when he arrived.
A middle-aged woman with the same navy-blue hair as the receptionist placed the food on the table.
"Thank you very much," Artorius said politely.
"You're welcome, son," she replied with a gentle smile before returning to the kitchen.
The meal was simple.
A loaf of bread and a bowl of warm, creamy soup.
Artorius sliced the bread and dipped it into the soup, letting it soften before taking a bite.
Even though the cooking techniques were far simpler than the cuisine in his home world, the food was still comforting.
"It's not fancy," he said, "but it's good."
"Simple meals often provide the most comfort," Travy replied.
After finishing breakfast, Artorius headed toward the town library.
Inside the library, a woman in her twenties greeted him from the front desk.
"Welcome. Is this your first time visiting our library?"
"Yes," Artorius said politely.
"Are there any rules I should know?"
The assistant librarian nodded.
"There are several."
She explained them one by one.
The library charged a small hourly fee in order to maintain the books and purchase new ones. Silence was required so readers could focus. Damaging books would result in fines, and stealing books was impossible because every book was enchanted to paralyze thieves who tried to leave the building.
"Enchanted books?" Artorius repeated.
"Yes," the assistant said.
"Magic is very useful for protecting knowledge."
Artorius found that interesting.
Back in Trest, most security relied on technology instead.
The assistant then handed him a chart showing how the books were organized by topic.
Artorius studied it carefully and memorized the shelf numbers for several subjects.
Magic. History. Culture.
"Thank you very much."
He paid one copper coin for four hours of reading.
"Please enjoy your time here," the assistant said.
Artorius walked to the magic section and selected a book titled Introduction to Magic and Its Types.
He sat down at an empty table and began reading.
An hour passed quickly.
By the time he finished the book, he had learned a surprising amount.
In Eiras, magic was divided into several major categories.
The first was elemental magic.
His home world only recognized five elemental attributes: earth, fire, water, air, and lightning.
But Eiras recognized seven.
The additional elements were light and dark.
Interestingly, these elements didn't represent good or evil like in many fantasy stories.
They were simply additional magical forces.
The reason Trest had not discovered them yet was simple.
Magic in his world was still extremely new.
It had only been discovered around one hundred years ago.
The next category was enchantment magic.
This type of magic allowed people to place magical effects on objects such as weapons, armor, and even buildings.
Artorius glanced at the book in his hands.
"So this book itself is enchanted."
"That is correct," Travy confirmed.
"In your world, technology filled this role instead."
Artorius nodded.
"That makes sense."
The third category was support magic.
This included healing spells, enhancement buffs for allies, and weakening effects for enemies.
"Very practical," Artorius said.
The fourth type was taming magic, which allowed people to form bonds with monsters.
Tamed creatures could become lifelong companions.
The final type was spirit magic.
Unlike normal spells, this magic involved forming contracts with spirits and borrowing their power to cast stronger magic.
"That's fascinating," Artorius said quietly.
He also learned something important about mana.
Mana capacity could grow through use.
Roughly ten percent of the total mana consumed could become permanent maximum mana.
"So if I completely exhaust my mana…"
"Your maximum mana may increase," Travy confirmed.
"That applies to both Eiras and your home world."
Artorius leaned back slightly.
"So magic and science developed in opposite directions between the two worlds."
On Trest, science advanced rapidly while magic remained young.
On Eiras, magic had advanced much further while science progressed more slowly.
Neither approach was better.
They were simply different.
Artorius closed the book and smiled slightly.
"Looks like I still have a lot to learn."
"Learning is the purpose of travel," Travy replied.
Artorius nodded.
Then he reached for another book on magic and began reading again.